Ex-German chancellor Schr枚der鈥檚 continued ties to Russian energy industry spark outcry
New York Times / Deutschlandfunk / Der Spiegel
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schr枚der from the governing Social Democrats (SPD) has caused outrage in Germany and within his own party with comments about his loyalty to Russian president Vladimir Putin and his role as a lobbyist for Russian energy companies. In an titled 鈥淧utin鈥檚 man in Germany鈥� with the New York Times, Schr枚der said he would uphold relations with the Russian leadership despite the war on Ukraine and has no intention to step down from his role as chairman of state-owned Russian energy company Rosneft and other mandates as long as supply contracts with Germany are being fulfilled. 鈥淗e should leave the party,鈥� SPD co-leader Saskia Esken public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk, arguing that her party colleague for years has 鈥渁cted solely as a businessman鈥� and 鈥渟hould no longer be treated as an elder statesman and former chancellor.鈥�
The SPD had urged Schr枚der in vain to lay down his mandates at Russian energy companies to save his reputation, Esken said, adding that an ongoing internal party review of Schr枚der鈥檚 SPD membership that could lead to his expulsion would face difficult legal hurdles. In an by news magazine Der Spiegel, Tilman Kuban from the opposition Christian Democrats鈥� (CDU) said the former chancellor鈥檚 鈥淩ussian connection鈥� was 鈥渁 disgrace for Germany鈥� and the SPD should lose no time to kick the former chancellor out of the party. Referring to a recent trip by Schr枚der to Moscow in what appeared to be an attempt to convince president Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine, Green Party politician Volker Beck said 鈥渁 mediator who鈥檚 on the payroll of one side鈥� could not be considered an earnest negotiator.
Schr枚der, who served as chancellor of an SPD-Green government coalition from 1998 to 2005, assumed various roles in the Russian gas and oil sector soon after his term ended and is considered a personal friend of Vladimir Putin. Amongst other things, he helped implementing the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 and lobbied for the now suspended supplement Nord Stream 2 by state-owned Russian company Gazprom.
